


Careful Walls, Frightened Hearts

by TheRebellingMind



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: A lot of angst in later chapters, Action & Romance, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Dialogue, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, More like semi-AU, Mostly Canon Compliant, Not Beta Read, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Season 3 Episode 6 slight ending change, Swearing, but fluff too, new to ao3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-18 17:44:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12392982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRebellingMind/pseuds/TheRebellingMind
Summary: "I didn't know Galra could tease. It seems my initial hypothesis was off."Acxa merely smirked, and Zoey found her lips curling the same way without her consent."I would say the same. I didn't know humans could actually be tolerable."Under normal circumstances, the human wouldn't be tolerable.Yet there they were, walking side by side.But for how long?





	1. (Prologue) Flight On

**Author's Note:**

> So, my first AO3 fic is going to be a Voltron one. I've never exposed my work this much before, but I hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> Seriously though, my fic adds a certain person to the story. She won't be introduced right away, but I hope you like her as much as I do.
> 
> Send me criticisms (be civil, please) and comments. They're always welcome, and I'm gonna need them to improve.
> 
> With that settled, once again, enjoy!

(???’s Point of View)

[Galra Storage/Research Base, Eulypa System]

Shiro and Coran had managed to take this whole predicament in stride, had resorted to not worrying as much as they tried to figure out Lotor’s plan… or more accurately, chose not to physically express their worry on their facial expressions.

It would have been noticeable to her then.

This action, however, was understandable. Worry and anxiety spread amongst teams when felt in excessive amounts, since fear had the capacity to spread quietly whilst remaining unnoticed. Not unlike a plague.

It was due to this that the two males in the Castle’s bridge spoke in hushed tones when the dispatched Paladins did not need to hear their words, both their pairs of eyes never straying for too long from the large screen displaying the Galra base.

The other remaining human, on the other hand, was found sunken deep into her thoughts, her hands running through the mess that was her loosely-bunned, light platinum strands. Zoey’s brows scrunched in concentration as her hazel green eyes scanned the two holo-screens alight at a smaller console near Pidge’s own, both the “loose” shirt and sweatpants she had borrowed from the Green Paladin slightly snug on her own body as she leaned onto the console to stare at the data. It was as if the answers to all the jumbled questions she had in her head would suddenly appear if she stared hard enough.

One screen displayed a glowing outline of the Galran anatomy, able to separate the body’s data by layer and body system, and by the data’s side were various Altean words that indicated parts of the body. Granted, about eighty-five percent of the chart was speculation (especially with regards to the holo-Galra’s bottom half) due to not having a live subject to study for herself. Despite its probability for inaccuracy, it was better than fighting the enemy blind. The other screen displayed the vital signs of each Paladin and support member, including Corran and herself. Everyone was physically and mentally stable so far.

Everyone but Shiro.

His brain constantly exhibited the elevated brainwaves that signaled distress, but she would have the time to question and aid their newly-returned friend about that later on.

Until then, Zoey had more pressing concerns.

“Something... seems off.” Her voice was soft-spoken, as it almost always had been. Combat medics, being hidden from the line of fire most of the time, were meant to offer comfort and support to those they treated on the battlefield. Thus, she’d found a calm, collected tone and demeanor that had impressed many back during her time in the Garrison. It was why she was one of the few chosen to train as a combat medic in the first place. That tone, however, did nothing to hide the worry in her voice as she stood by her console. “I really don’t like that we sent the Paladins in without so much as a plan “B”. Lotor is always one step ahead of us, and he probably already knows that we’ve followed him all this way.”

Or he probably led them here. Things could go sideways as easily as a tick could go by.

“Hey.” Coran turned to look over his shoulder, smile reassuring behind his well-maintained moustache. Though, with how often she’d spent observing others, the way he tried to mask his own worries did not fool her. “They’ll be fine. They outsmarted those hooligans once, they can do it again. Don’t you worry that pretty little head o’ yours off, Zo-zo!”

It took them almost too much time to form Voltron, took them almost too much time to get organized as a team, took them even more time to finally free themselves from Lotor’s trap. As Hunk had said, more than half the team had to adapt to their new lions, and it had only been Allura’s quick thinking that had gotten them all out of trouble during the last encounter. And even then, the Altean princess had encountered her own bumps and scrapes along the way.

Would they bet on that again?

Could they afford to?

“Coran’s right.” Shiro followed the Altean up shortly after, a small glint present in his gray eyes as he too turned his head to offer her a reassuring smile. Zoey didn’t get it. It had been the same smile he’d always given everyone to calm their nerves since day one, but instead of calming her, the gesture actually sent chills down her spine. The smile felt… wrong for reasons she could not make sense of at the moment. “They’re gonna be getting back with the information on Lotor’s plan and the comet, and we’ll be out of this system before Lotor can do anything about it. We have to believe in the power of Voltron.”

Voltron, she noted, not the team.

If only things had been that simple thus far.

Instead, things seemed to escalate faster than she could keep up with.

As of then, Zoey had no choice but to take their (former?) leader’s advice. She was sure she’d manage to get an aneurysm if she worried any more at that moment, and... she didn’t want things to escalate. While Shiro didn’t feel... right, she still felt a little bad that the Black Lion had chosen to stop responding to him and would rather not take her frustrations out on him.

“... Fine.” Zoey relented softly, rubbing at her temple just as softly to attempt at easing the throbbing ache that had formed there. Worry clouded one’s mind easily, and the Paladins at the base needed everyone in the Castle clear-headed for support. She knew she could worry all she wanted after they escaped whatever it is Lotor had planned for them. “Thank you, Shiro. I–”

What she was going to say next was interrupted by the sounds of creaking metal, and the three in the Castle turned to the screen to see the base’s roof unfold to reveal...

“Coran, get me a closer look at that.” Shiro’s voice resonated clearly around the bridge as Zoey joined them in front of the display, and the curious Altean did as ordered, the screen quickly scanning the oddly-shaped object and forming an outline of a familiar shape on the screen’s right side. It’s only been a week, but the mere sight of it jarred her senses. “Is that...?”

A moment of silence passed in answer as the image loomed over them.

“The teludav!” Coran’s voice was high-strung with tension, his palms slamming onto the console harshly as he spoke. “What in the name of King Grogory the Infirm is going on?!” The room’s atmosphere grew even heavier than it had been before, and immediately, Zoey’s attention went to Shiro out of concern. The incident with the teludav had affected him the most, after all.

Yet, Shiro seemed unaffected, seemed cold and distant.

As if he was looking at something distasteful.

“Coran, get me a comm link with them now.” Shiro’s order was quickly followed, and Zoey remained silent, eyes concentrated on the recent returned male. Her gaze studied at the fastest rate she could muster, wondering if Shiro had grown _that_ good at hiding his emotions in the amount of time that he’d disappeared on them?

Or was this something worse?

“Guys.” The screen blinked to form Pidge’s somber expression, but Shiro carried on speaking uncaringly. The feeling Zoey had had about their newly-returned teammate from the beginning grew even worse than before as she took in the sight in front of her. Shiro didn’t care about the team’s morale at all. “There’s a piece of the teludav inside the Galra base.” At those words, Lance’s own face popped up on the screen beside the Green Paladin, the Blue Paladin’s eyes widening slightly in surprise at the statement made.

“The one we used to wormhole Zarkon’s ship?” The tension rose in Lance’s voice, and Zoey could relate with how hard her heart had been beating just then.

“But they would never be able to operate it without an Altean...” Allura had trailed off with a gasp, the Altean Paladin’s voice strong with emotion as she spoke again. “Zarkon’s witch! She had Altean markings!” Zoey, at that point, could believe anything Allura had to say. For the princess to lie about such a thing was unthinkable.

Zarkon had an Altean on his side, one of the last alive besides the princess and Coran themselves.

She could only imagine how that felt.

“Is anyone else kind of freaking out?” Hunk’s paranoia easily got to him, growing to full display through his voice, and Zoey knew this well. She had helped him deal with it many times before, lending an ear when he’d needed to rant and helping him cook something once in awhile to relieve himself of his near-constant stressing.

“Yup.” Lance’s voice shook slightly, and Zoey never thought she would actually find herself wishing to hear the confidence with which the Blue Paladin used to try and flirt his way in and out of trouble. She absolutely loathed hearing the hesitance and fear so clearly in their voices, despite knowing they were then mirroring her own anxieties. “Mark me down for one freak out.”

“Freaking out is normal, but we all believe in you, paladins. You have all pulled through worse odds before. Together.” Zoey spoke up at that, trying her best to form a believable determined expression as the ground Paladins all turned their full attention to her for the moment. They had gone against Zarkon and had lived to fight another day. The undertone was left unsaid, but she knew they all understood. “You are the universe’s only hope.”

“Lotor must be nearby.” Keith spoke up after a brief pause, and Zoey’s brows furrowed slightly once again, wondering where he was going with this. The former Red Paladin always thought too far ahead, and thought too little of the prince’s capabilities. She wasn’t sure that any of them could handle the Galra prince and his generals again. “We need to find him and take him out for good.”

“Team, you cannot let Lotor get that ship.” Shiro immediately contradicted, Keith’s surprised face now replacing Pidge’s on the large holo-monitor. Perhaps it was still quite a shock to hear Shiro’s voice again, as if their tallest member had never left in the first place, but they all knew that Keith held Shiro’s opinion higher than anyone else’s on the team. “You need to get back to your lions. You need Voltron.”

“Why take out one ship when we could stop all this by taking out Lotor himself?” Zoey understood the logic. Keith thought it to be the simplest solution, like snapping a dislocated bone back into its place. However... war was never an easy fix. “We can’t let him keep outsmarting us!”

“That’s exactly why we can’t risk letting Lotor have that ship. This is too important.” At Shiro’s argument, Zoey gave a silent nod. They could pick their battles another day, when the odds weren’t in favor of the other side. The universe only knew what Lotor would do with a teludav piece.

“Keith.” The Altean princess’ diplomatic tone was authoritative but simultaneously sympathetic. She could only imagine how hard the princess was restraining herself. “I want to stop Lotor as badly as you, but Shiro has a point.” Allura could be reasoned with. Keith could be as stubborn as Lance was about his facial routine.

“Okay.” There was a split-second pause in thought before their mission leader spoke once again. “You guys go back to the lions. I’m going to search the ship for Lotor.” The combat medic sighed, rubbing at her temple as she immediately spoke to counter him.

“I strongly advise against that idea. The last time you split, it almost didn’t end well for all of you.” If the team wasn’t complete, they weren’t going to be at their strongest, at their most efficient. After their last split up, she’d thought that Keith would have learned his lesson. However, it was obvious then that old habits died hard.

“Keith.” Shiro’s voice was soft as he called out to the new Black Paladin. “You have to stick together.” There was a flicker of an emotion on the former Black Paladin’s face then, and Zoey had just barely caught it change. She just wished she could have identified which emotion it had been.

“Yeah, I’m with Shiro and Zoey on this one.” Lance had earned more respect from her for that. He did always care about not splitting the team apart, and she appreciated that mindset to counter Keith’s. Simultaneous agreement from both Pidge and Hunk caused the new mission leader to frustratedly relent.

“Fine. Let’s move.” Keith’s disagreement to the plan was clear in his tone, but at least, he wasn’t running off on his own like he did during the last mission. Perhaps he had learned his lesson this time, though it had seemed otherwise.

With that order, the connection was cut.

And things went as sideways as she’d expected.

“We have to stop that cargo ship.” Shiro’s order was easier said than done when said cargo ship was being protected by a smaller fighter that dodged too quickly for the Castle’s defenses and practically bent to dodge their fire. The ship was made from the same material as Voltron, and the cannon it possessed was much stronger than the one they’d faced on Zarkon’s own battle cruiser. Each hit to the particle barrier had caused Zoey to tighten her grip on the nearby console, her white knuckles the only things keeping her from losing her balance. The beam ate through their defenses like it was nothing.

And soon, the plan had become obvious to Zoey.

The only thing that had made Lotor’s plan even more concrete in the medic’s mind had been the appearance of another comet-made fighter similar to the first.

The cargo ship had been on the move, out of Voltron’s reach due to the second comet-made fighter that had chosen to constantly fire upon the team. Voltron had been cornered, played right into the enemy’s hands. The choice was either opting to go after the teludav and leave themselves vulnerable to withstand a direct hit from the fighter or let it go and let Lotor have what he came for. The reality of the choice had hit Zoey with the force of Voltron’s shoulder cannon.

“It’s going to hyper jump!” Hunk’s observation proved to be correct as light blue energy began to form in the cargo ship’s multiple thrusters. “Looks like we don’t have even ten doboshes!”

“You’re going to have to lower your shield, shoot the cargo ship, and deal with the consequences!” Zoey’s eyes widened in disbelief at the statement from the former Black Paladin, and she turned to face Shiro so fast that she felt her neck momentarily ache from the force she had exerted.

Even Keith’s eyes widened.

“Are you serious? They could _die_ , Shiro! Our _team_ , our _friends_ could die!” Zoey wouldn’t have believed that the male beside her had said (or even thought) such a thing if she had not heard it herself. Her tone betrayed her outrage at such. “That cannon pierced right through the particle barrier! They can’t take a hit like that head on without getting injured or worse, and you know it!”

“Voltron can take it! They have to or else the Galra Empire gets that teludav piece!” Shiro’s gray eyes narrowed at her, and she quickly searched into her mind as she chose to halt their argument for the time being. Shiro… How could he say such a thing? She just needed to...

“Then, they need someone to distract the cargo ship.” The realization had caused Zoey to nearly yell this out, Shiro and Keith’s expressions flickering with surprise as she heard other small sounds from the other Paladins, but she did not wait for their permission as she turned to sprint to the hangar. She knew how to fly a fighter. She wasn’t the best, but...

She was the best they had for now.

Shiro needed to stay. Something was wrong with him, but they had just gotten him back from the Galra. It would devastate the team to lose him again.

“Zoey, no!” Coran clutched tight at her wrist, eyes wide with clear worry now. The Altean’s eyes were practically begging her to reconsider and _stay_ , and she could feel her chest tightening painfully in response to his distress. However... she knew what had to be done. “Let the Paladins handle this! I’m sure they ca–”

“Hey.” Zoey gave Coran the most serious and most caring look she could muster at the moment, a small smile tugging at her lips as she held his wrist to gently pry his grip off of her own. “You told me not to worry. So, don’t… okay? I’ll be back before you can say “quiznak”.”

And then, she was off, giving Shiro a small, sad smile as he made no move to stop her, arguments from everyone else blaring on the comm.

Taking deep breaths to calm herself as the hangar doors opened to the void, she maneuvered her small Altean fighter toward the direction of the cargo ship, her hazel irises surveying each direction before she paused on the sight of the idle Castle. She hoped everyone would survive. If Zoey would make it out of this, that would probably be of the best outcome. If not, she had been proud to have served with such an amazing team.

She shut her eyes tight momentarily as she tried not to imagine the worst outcome.

She could not think such things, not now.

And her eyes shot open again as she sped up and banked left to dodge several shots fired by the other, forgotten fighter.

The comet-made fighter was being expertly piloted, a skill Zoey suddenly wished she focused more on back during her garrison training, but she managed to avoid a few close calls, taking small hits and grazes that made the controls momentarily glow red in warning. She had to dodge multiple blasts from the cannon that had somehow not managed to land a single hit on her. She had to keep focused, but she could not deny her mind’s attention being split into too many thoughts at once. Especially when she heard static coming from her ship’s comm in the form of Coran’s unintelligible and frantic tones.

It was then that she’d caught sight of the large cargo ship, the forming blue energy nearly ready to take the teludav piece away to who knows where. Relief mixed with anxiety as her ship quickly approached, the comet-made fighter, its smaller blasters, and large cannon blazing hot on her tail. Her eyes scanned the cargo ship’s sleek exterior, near-frantically trying to remember bits and pieces of what Pidge and Hunk usually spoke about in conversation whenever they maintained the Castle.

Then, she realized it, hazel eyes focused on an access panel embedded into the side of the ship that she knew held something important.

And her own plan soon formed.

“There.” She softly breathed, her jaw clenching as she realized she was now so close to achieving her goal. She sped straight for the panel she’d been eyeing, noticing several bright flashes of purple forming out of the corner of her right eye.

Fifteen ticks.

All she needed was a little...

Eight ticks.

The purple lights grew closer.

One.

And luck was suddenly on her side.

The shots had reached its intended mark, the multiple energy bolts piercing into the contents of the access panel head on as Zoey pulled on the controls hard to the right to dodge at the last second. Blue arcs of electricity fizzed about and clashed to form a small explosion that halted the cargo ship’s movements. The hyper jump engines deactivated near-immediately, the electric blue energy fading from the thrusters as its jump was interrupted midway.

And it was followed by a powerful beam that had pierced right into the cargo ship’s side, making her eye Voltron as she watched it dodge the cannon fire. A growing, relieved smile formed on her face, her back slumping slightly.

They had managed to–

Zoey grunted as the side of the cargo ship exploded a split second later, throwing her small Altean fighter off toward the much larger, Galra cruiser that had remained idle for the duration of the battle. It seemed Lotor had not thought to send fighters after them, not with his generals about.

It’s either the prince had gotten cocky for the first time or did not mind losing the teludav piece either way.

And yet–

Her thoughts were halted once more as soon as the her own fighter slammed hard into the Galran cruiser’s side, making her vision blur and her head throb with the force of impact. She could hear several voices over her comm link now, slightly clearer as she recognized one word.

“Zoey!”

Several voices, frantic. She didn’t recognize who called for her due to her mind fogging. The Paladins. Coran. The team.

They pulled through, against the odds that had been put against them.

And that was all that mattered.

A flash of light that looked suspiciously violet, and the world faded to black.


	2. (Chapter 1) Cautious Integration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Zoey comes face-to-face with her captors.

(Zoey's Point of View) 

[????]

“... puny.” A deep, gruff voice registered in her ears, Zoey’s eyelids too heavy to open still. However, her ears were more alert as a result. Once you snuffed out one of the senses, the others heightened, and it was due to this sensitivity that she managed to hear multiple hums of agreement. 

“She kinda flew around Narti’s shots though, so she probably isn’t _completely_ useless.” This voice was much nearer to her than the first, much more high-pitched and slightly playful, and she had to forcibly hold in a flinch when it had spoken uncomfortably close to her left ear. Who was talking around her? Where was she? Why did everything feel so heavy? Why is everything so dark?

Then, behind her eyes, the memories of the battle came back full force.

Voltron.

Lotor.

The cargo ship.

The battle.

Her team. Her teammates that were very much alive.

Or so she hoped.

If she did not die, where did she end up?

The two, previous voices… She had categorized them as feminine, though she did not want to assume.

And a horrid thought struck her.

Oh quiznak, she hoped she was wrong.

Several beeps echoed throughout the room in succession, resembling a stuttering heartbeat. 

The voices now grew silent as they waited for a few moments before yet another spoke.

“She’s awake.” There was a shifting of feet that followed this cold, quiet tone. This tone, oddly enough, rang through her mind like a large bell's chime, ominous and threatening. The next, few beeps that followed from the machine seemed to reiterate the fact. “Be on your guard.”

“What do you think she’s going to do to us though?” The high-pitched voice was back, confusion prevalent in the female’s(?) tone. “There are five of us and only one of her. She doesn’t stand a chance. Besides, she hit her head pretty hard.”

She hated when people she didn’t trust were proven right.

Zoey’s head throbbed, and she was suddenly very much aware that she would need painkillers soon. Or at the very least, a temporary cold compress. She found herself moving her fingers and toes, checking for any abnormalities as she tried to move her limbs. Ten fingers and the same amount of toes, all still functioning. No limb loss she could feel. For whatever reason, however, she felt she could not move herself from her current position.

That was when Zoey found herself opening her eyes.

“Wh–” Trying to turn her head to make sense of her surroundings, she had to shut her eyes tight again at the bright purple lighting that emanated from various parts of the room. Her headache was growing, but the medic knew it was just her eyes slowly adjusting. By the time her eyes slowly reopened without the accompanying pain, she realized why her movements had been so restricted. Thick, metallic bindings had her limbs, waist, and neck pinned to a cold, metallic surface beneath her, rendering her nearly immobile. “Oh… fu– quiznak.”

Was it impolite to swear in English?

“And the sleeping beauty finally awakens.” That unmistakably smooth tone. It sent chills crawling down her spine, so much colder than the table’s metallic surface and had a much harsher… bite. His voice wasn’t anywhere close to her body, but the mere sound of it sent Zoey’s mind reeling, despite her outwardly semi-calm demeanor. The fact that she couldn’t move made it so much worse. “We’ve been so looking forward to meeting our little… troublemaker.”

She could see the room’s entrance out of the corner of her right eye, her one exit. 

The one exit blocked by five, expert Galra Empire warriors that probably had it out for her due to her little bout of heroism.

They had every advantage.

She was screwed, and they knew she knew.

“What do we do with her, Prince Lotor?” The aqua-skinned, Galra(?) woman to Lotor’s right was the first to speak after his entrance, eyes cooly focusing on the prince’s figure next to her before turning to coldly meet Zoey’s gaze as the human had managed to turn her head despite her restraints. The woman’s face was a careful mask, as was her confident stance, and it was the odd calm that rolled off of her in waves which prompted Zoey to fear her almost as much as she did Lotor. She could already tell that provoking this one would be a mistake she’d regret in moments. 

Those calculating navy-colored irises bore into her own, as if threatening to tear into her very soul if Lotor ordered it.

“She’s useless to us, and she trashed the piece of teludav.” The gruff voice returned, a tall, teal-skinned woman speaking up from the group’s far left as she crossed her well-toned arms. The woman’s hulking stature would be more intimidating had Zoey not encountered her type before, brash, prickly and with a fighting spirit that rivaled a certain former Red Paladin’s. That, and Zoey had been more focused on the structure that seemed to be the woman’s ears than her attitude. “I say we beat her to a pulp already and toss her out of the damn airlock.”

Beside the muscular woman, a more slender, red-skinned woman with multicolored patterns lining her face and an extension from her head merely smirked, leaning against the tallest woman’s upper arm as she studied the human with a startling lack of… wickedness behind her sky blue gaze. It seemed to her that this one didn’t really care what became of her, and Zoey could understand that. However, she was made to feel… small under the red-skinned woman’s gaze. Though that could have been a collective response from all their gazes.

The one that had been next to the aqua-skinned woman, however… There was no identifiable expression on her reptilian face, shadows cast over said face by a worn hood and with no eyes to peer at her. There was no telling what this one was thinking, but there seemed to be no hostile intent from this one either. What unnerved her, however, had been the sight of a black cat suddenly jumping onto the reptilian woman’s right shoulder, its near-glowing yellow eyes moving to her before it seemed to give her an impish grin.

None of them made a move, not without Lotor’s say.

Yet, Zoey couldn’t let her guard down around any of them.

“What you will do,” Lotor’s voice brought ice upon her spine once again, her brows furrowing as she tried not to show how much he frightened her. Zarkon had not frightened her as much as his son did for many reasons. “Is you will leave her and I alone to talk.” Her eyes widened at the statement, her stomach seeming to plummet as her mind raced far faster than she wanted.

“Prince Lotor… are you sure that’s wise?” The one that had seemed the friendliest now had a thoughtful but not necessarily disagreeing expression on her face. This indicated that she did know he could handle himself but that she was simultaneously worried for him. They all seemed to be.

“I must agree.” The aqua-skinned woman clearly disapproved of the prince’s idea, understandably so. They didn’t know much about her. She was not a Paladin, did not participate in major battles, and was rarely seen outside the Castle. They did not know Zoey’s weaknesses and strengths, did not know her at all. “Surely, at least one of us should–”

Lotor held up a hand, his eyes still trained on her before he eyed the woman that had last spoken.

“That will not be necessary. She can do no harm to me in such a state.” He gestured to her restrained form, his gracefully smug smirk still in place. He was so sure of himself, so… confident, and that realization threatened to fray Zoey’s nerves even more. “Take a rest whilst we speak. After, you and I shall discuss the… less than stellar results of your mission, Acxa.”

So, that was her name.

The woman, Acxa, paused to eye Zoey warily as she lay captive before sighing deeply, ushering the others from the room in order to give the two that remained the privacy that had been ordered.

_Quizfuckingnak._

__

It was as if the room’s temperature dropped several degrees in mere seconds. 

__

“Now,” The prince strode over with the subtle movements of a dancer, and the only thing Zoey could do was look away from him as he loomed over her. She would not, under any circumstances, voluntarily show him how terrified he had made her. It would bring him a satisfaction Zoey would loathe herself for. “You know you don’t have a lot of options. Unless you wish a painful death.”

__

She was dying on the inside right now. Did that count?

__

“And what options do I have?” Why did they even take her in the first place? To be bait for the team? It wasn’t as if the team hadn’t already been following Lotor and his crew from place-to-place. Wherever they were now, Zoey could only hope Team Voltron had an actual plan instead of a battering ram.

__

“You could answer our interrogation honestly and be a good little informant of mine once your friends rescue you. Without betrayal, of course, unless you wish for your team to be hunted down.” The idea of doing such a thing sickened her to her stomach, but she made no sound. “Or maybe you’d rather I allow Zethrid to do what she wants with you. Maybe I’ll even let them take turns.” Zoey knew better than to immediately decline. She wasn’t of use to the Paladin team dead. However, she had no plans of aiding Lotor in the slightest. 

__

It had been easy enough for her to guess which of the women Zethrid had been… and what the tall alien had wished to do to her. It didn’t help that Zoey couldn’t see an outcome with her winning in a full-on fight against any of them.

__

How weak she was compared to them frustrated her to no end.

__

“All this because I helped your own team destroy the teludav piece that you tried to steal from your faction.” She mused this aloud with a blooming cockiness, suddenly way past caring about the consequences of her words. The others did manage to tell her that Lotor was ruthless, but she didn’t think he’d play with a stranger this much. “Guess my little distraction did more to your ego than I originally thought.” The prince raised a brow at her comment, a gesture she could clearly see out of the corner of her eye. His lips formed an unnerving line that betrayed only neutrality.

__

And there was a pause as the weight of her words sunk in like an anvil around her neck.

__

“I didn’t realize what a smart mouth you possessed, troublemaker.” Lotor did not hide his amusement in the slightest, his lips then recurving into their signature smirk. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought he was impressed, but she was too busy considering the airlock option at this point. “Of course, I don’t expect an answer right away, though there is only one favorable to you. However, one thing I will expect right now is for your introduction once I call my generals back in.”

__

“What?” Her incredulity must have been too obvious, because the Galra prince merely smirked again in response. She could not begin to fathom Lotor’s thoughts, and if there was one thing she hated, it was being left in the dark. However, before she could ask anything further, he had turned away from her to walk toward a nearby console, doing something she couldn’t see before he softly chuckled.

__

“You may enter, you snoops.” A click of a button from Lotor and the room’s entrance had slid open, the four, female generals that had been leaning against the door stumbling with its sudden retraction to the side. 

__

Acxa had rebalanced herself near-immediately with a roll to land in a kneeling position, the aqua-skinned woman rubbing the back of her neck as she merely huffed in what Zoey identified as embarrassment. Despite the lack of emotion on her face, the human could tell that much.

__

Zethrid had actually fallen but had instinctively caught her body weight on her arms in the perfect push-up position, the impact of palm on metal sending vibrations through the flooring. Directly after, the muscular woman had pushed herself up and jumped to stand with the momentum, the frown that never seemed to leave her face still formed upon her features.

__

The still-silent, reptilian woman, who seemed to have been leaning with her back into the door, merely used her long, thick tail to steady her body upon the ground as her loyal cat laid nonchalantly next to her feet. Her head had not turned to face Lotor or their captive, but it was noticed that it was the feline’s yellow eyes that were trained upon Zoey as it tilted its head. 

__

And the red-skinned woman had caught her weight on one hand, performing a single-handed cartwheel to land gracefully by the left side of Zoey’s head as said woman sported a large grin. The alien had beauty, grace, and… would maybe punch Zoey in more than one place.

__

Actually, they all applied to the popular saying.

__

Zoey had to say she was impressed.

__

Lotor did not seem at all fazed by what had unfolded in mere seconds. 

__

“Since you seem rather fascinated by them, it’s only fair you know their names.” Lotor’s smirk never left his face as he spoke, a hand raising up to point out each of his generals individually. Zoey narrowed her eyes slightly, almost unnoticeably, at the accusation he presented. “Fascinated” was… certainly one way to put it. Damn him for reading her so easily.

__

“The one that landed next to your head is Ezor, our resident acrobat.” The red-skinned Ezor gave Zoey an overly-friendly grin, waving her fingers in a greeting that struck the medic as extremely… human-like. However, this “acrobat” was a part of Lotor’s crew, and that meant underestimating her was out of the question.

__

“Zethrid, the one with nearly enough muscle to put my father to shame, is the one we rely on for more… non-diplomatic situations.” Said woman merely huffed in response to acknowledge the introduction. Zoey could only imagine what the parties in those “non-diplomatic situations” looked like after Zethrid had been done with them. Probably like space goo. 

__

“Our silent trump cards, Narti, and her… companion, Kova, are our expert infiltrators.” The cat… Wait, was the cat a fighter as well? The introduced, silent duo caught Zoey’s curiosity immediately, and many speculations began to form out of habit. Did they fight together? What could they do? Did Zoey even want to know?

__

“Lastly, Acxa, our best marksman, is my second-in-command.” She met Acxa’s gaze with her own, watching the emotions they held being slowly tucked away until only the cold was left. The aqua-skinned general merely gave a single nod to affirm, gaze making Zoey avert her eyes. 

__

Each introduction had been accompanied by a graceful gesture, said introductions the perfect balance between revelation and secrecy. Zoey wondered if this had been rehearsed whilst she had been unconscious. 

__

Certainly, however, they were characters to keep in mind.

__

Lotor then turned to Zoey, an expectant look displayed in his eyes that spoke volumes. Internally, she had been debating what to say, a renewed nervousness suddenly taking over her. She would rather take on multiple fighter ships plus Zarkon than make introductions to strangers, especially if said strangers that had been trying to kill her team and herself for quite some time.

__

Her increased heart rate manifested itself in multiple, successive beeps from a machine that signalled an abnormality.

__

And Lotor raised his brow.

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“Just tell us your name, troublemaker.” He spoke in a tone that once again betrayed his amusement, and she felt her anger flare to mix into her absurd mix of emotions. The smirking male knew exactly what he was doing to her, but he wasn’t pressing. Was he trying to help her along in front of his crew? Did he want her to embarrass herself? “We don’t bite… unless you ask for it.”

__

Gah, this whole situation was quizna… Nah, it was fucked up.

__

Thus, Zoey took a deep breath through her nose and out her lips to steady herself as her heart rate slowly calmed.

__

“Well… um…” Nice start, Zoey. You’re doing great. Let them know how exactly how scared you are. It didn’t help that the generals all had these looks in their eyes, something she was too busy being nervous to identify. She then sighed sharply in her frustration. “It’s Zoey, spelled Z-O-E-Y. Not sure if it’s nice to meet you, but here we are. There. Happy?” When nervous, she had the embarrassing tendency to be as prickly as Keith normally was, which is why she usually kept her calm for her profession’s sake. 

__

Now, however, she was a captive. Not a doctor.

__

However, her heart rate was growing steadier as she adapted.

__

“I’m still callin’ you pipsqueak, puny.” Zethrid had been the first to comment, the others in the room turning to eye the tallest general as she had spoken. Zoey found herself replying before she could stop her mouth running from her, a rather troubling side effect of her frayed nerves.

__

“You... called me puny just then though.” And she put her foot in her mouth, mentally berating herself in the brief pause that followed.

__

And the red-skinned woman began to chuckle, the sound muffled by the back of her palm. There was a fond look in the Ezor’s eyes as she laughed at their tallest member’s blunder, something Zoey had noticed immediately. Instead of getting angry, however, Zethrid merely narrowed her eyes at Zoey, a low growl mixing in with a huff as she gruffly spoke once again.

__

“Gotta admire your guts, pipsqueak.” And Zethrid was then grinning, the muscular alien crossing her arms as she continued. “Still gonna beat you to space goo sooner or later though.”

__

“Moving on.” It was Acxa that had spoken this time, calculating eyes trained on the human as she spoke. “Our informants have never seen you on missions, meaning you’re either not a Paladin… or just good at hiding. What do you do for their group?”

__

Zoey _wished_ she was good at hiding.

__

Should she lie? Would they be able to tell?

__

“I’m their support.” She spoke vaguely at first, trying to gauge a reaction. All she got was slight confusion and a gaze from Lotor that… suggested she should continue. “... I’m a combat medic. The team takes me for missions where they don’t require their lions, which is probably why none of your informants have seen me.”

__

“Isn’t that… contradictory?” Acxa looked a little disbelieving, and with her words, Zoey understood why. More often than not, medics and healers stayed out of combat, usually didn’t even know how to fight, yet she meant what she implied.

__

“It is, but where I come from, we don’t have automatons to fight for us besides most of the weaponry and army vehicles we use.” She wished they did, but it would cost much just to mass produce them like the Galra could so easily. “... It’s my job to prevent any casualties I can on battlefields that involve our organic soldiers.” 

__

It had always been hard to hide the pang of pain she found in her chest, but… she seemed to have managed. 

__

Hidden behind a mask of calm.

__

She just wished it got any easier with time.

__

Acxa met her gaze, as if trying to decipher her, but merely nodded her satisfaction to the answer she’d been given.

__

“Last question.” And her gaze was on Lotor, her mind mentally readying itself. “Are you scared of us, little troublemaker?” Zoey had a feeling that nickname was going to stick for quite a while.

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_**Seriously?** _

__

“What kind of question is that, honestly?” There was a point that she was not supposed to cross, but it seemed as though her mouth had been running from her a lot today. So, Zoey’s tone betrayed frustration at Lotor’s toying with her. “Of course I am, for quiznak’s sake! Even if you didn’t notice my abnormal heartbeat and my slight stutter already, I can’t imagine how any sane being in the world _wouldn’t_ be terrified when being held against their will in the custody of an overly dramatic prince from a race of conquerors, a hulk woman that could probably snap me like a twig with her two fingers, an acrobat that looks like she can kill me while still smiling, a silent, reptilian woman that could probably rip my head off without lifting so much as a finger, her slightly creepy pet cat that won’t stop staring at me, and a marksman that could probably melt me with her damn glare if she had a choice! So, yes, I’m quite _fucking_ terrified. Thank you _very_ fucking much for asking!”

__

And there came one of the longest pauses of her life.

__

She was done for.

__

They’d probably kill her now or wo–

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Her thought was interrupted by a muffled snicker.

__

Ezor began to laugh again, this time with less restraint than before. 

__

That wasn’t what shocked Zoey.

__

What shocked the medic was the fact that most of them then began to laugh _with_ the acrobat general, with the exception of Narti. 

__

Even _Kova_ seemed to mimic a smirk.

__

At her expense.

__

Zoey wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or annoyed.

__

Their laughter continued for one of the longest three minutes of the human’s life, making her groan internally as she waited for them to calm.

__

“Ah, how entertaining you are.” Lotor spoke as his laughter died down, turning to his generals as he wiped some tears from his eyes. The three generals that usually spoke were smirking, and the human felt herself flush from embarrassment. Did he have to say something like that?

__

“Whatever.” Zoey narrowed her hazel eyes, her heart rate now calming from her outburst. She was more embarrassed than anything else, really.

__

“Now, now,” Lotor chided her like a parent would their angsty teenager child… which was actually somewhat accurate at the moment. “No need to be touchy. That was your last question for the quintant, and so, you’re not needed in this room any longer, for the time being that is.” While Zoey was relieved, she didn’t want to stay cuffed like this, not for long periods of time. She could already imagine the joint pains, the possible rashes… 

__

“Come on.” Zoey jumped lightly at the tone next to her, managing to hold down a flinch as the cuffs disappeared into the table. Now able to fully turn, she was mentally readying herself to try and think of a way out. However, those thoughts were put to a halt when she met Acxa’s cold and composed gaze. Of course, Lotor would leave her with the general that terrified her the most. “Prince Lotor’s putting you in a cell.”

__

No way out.

__


	3. (Chapter 2) Instinct Wars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Zoey learns and plans are made.

(Zoey’s Point of View)

[Lotor’s Battle Cruiser, ???]

“We need to get you moving.”

The human knew she had no choice at the moment but to obey.

Zoey, with her medical instincts kicking in, tried to take her time sitting up. As she’d thought, her body had grown stiff from lack of movement, her hazel eyes catching the barest redness that had formed around her wrists and ankles. She could only imagine how her neck looked at that moment. The medic knew, however, that the soreness and reddening would heal. She was actually surprised that they weren’t as irritated as she thought they would be, given that she had been knocked out for who knows how long. They either didn’t cuff her right away… or the bonds had not been as tight as she had presumed.

Wordlessly, Acxa’s hands were placed on her slightly shaking form, supporting her back and arms as Zoey sat up. She felt angry at herself for needing such aid, but she knew better than to let her pride take over. It had happened many times and had never resulted in any good. Thus, all Zoey did was allow herself to be helped around, huffing with effort as she stood on shaky legs.

It had been slightly slow, but soon, she was walking close to normal through hallway after hallway, the pain in her head now merely a dull throb. Bearable. She could find a makeshift cold compress somewhere. The floor maybe? What was her cell going to be like? She wasn’t sure how she was going to ask for one or… if she even could. She was their prisoner, after all.

She walked next to a silent Acxa, and Zoey did occasionally prefer this, where she could collect her thoughts as she wondered how in the universe she was getting out of this. However, as she looked up to the slightly taller general, she had to momentarily halt her movements.

She could see it.

The long, fresh cut near-hidden by the collar of Acxa’s armor, a dark navy line contrasting her aqua skin.

More likely than not, it must have occurred during a scuffle back in the Galra base.

Acxa’s questioning stare jarred her from her thoughts.

“Ac–” She halted the name before it formed, wondering when she would stop letting her mouth talk before her mind could assess her words. Could she call the general by her first name? She wasn’t sure she should bother to try. “Erm… General… it’s not safe to leave a cut like that unattended, especially with how often the planets around are usually so… inhospitable. It could get infected if you don’t take care of it..”

Zoey instinctively reached a hand upward to point the cut out, maybe examine it herself as her mind conducted a checklist that occurred each time she treated wounds. It didn’t look infected yet, but it wasn’t dressed at all either. The cut looked about half an inch deep, about a quarter of an inch wide. Whatever and whoever had caused it had been made sharp and made for serious injury. Many possibilities played in her mind, Keith’s bayard being the most probable cause she found.

Before she could get even within inches reach of the wound however, the general had grabbed a hold of her wrist, strong fingers grasping tight as Acxa’s eyes searched hers for any malintent. Zoey held in a gasp with widened eyes, the medic’s jaw merely clenching as she waited for her wrist to be broken or worse. The intensity of the other’s glare should have frightened her more, but Zoey could almost see something else, something other than threat. Whatever it was, however, she could not tell then. 

After what seemed like hours, the general’s grip loosened before letting the human go completely.

And there had been a weighted pause.

“I… Apologies.” It was Zoey who spoke, her hazel eyes averting to the hallway ahead instead of meeting the Galra’s gaze any longer. Her other hand came to lightly rub at her now-aching wrist, her mind already conjuring the image of a dark bruise. She had indeed overstepped, and it was clear that Acxa had been acting out of instinct, or perhaps… “Bad habit of mine.” 

And another pause.

“Just worry about your own injuries.” Zoey could not decipher the tone that Acxa had used as she spoke, merely following as she was led once again around corners and through different doors. The other didn’t seem angry, didn’t seem remorseful. It was something else. However, she only hoped that the sharpshooter would take her advice. “... Let’s get to your cell.” 

The walk was silent from there.

By the time that they arrived at Zoey’s so-called “cell”, the silence had now been loaded with an awkwardness that made the medic slightly guilty. She really needed to be more conscious of her actions. If she overstepped too many times, they might as well have several reasons to just shoot her between the eyes.

However, she shifted her focus to examining her cell, wanting to push the issue from her mind until it came up again. The room was medium-sized, about as big as those found at the Castle if Zoey had to estimate, or maybe even a little bigger. She had not expected to find a bed by the left wall, nor the pleasant surprise of a blanket and a pillow lying atop it. The medic even found a table placed in the center of the room, also finding a door that was presumably a bathroom in the cell’s far left corner. It seemed more like a guest bedroom than a holding cell, if she was honest.

However, the small security camera attached to the ceiling of the room’s far right corner said otherwise.

“This is your cell for the meantime.” Turning to Acxa but not quite meeting her gaze, Zoey nodded mutely. She didn’t want the awkwardness to further, didn’t want to press, but the human saw the Galra’s responding nod out of the corner of her eye. As soon as the general turned to leave however, Zoey had looked up, watching Acxa’s leaving figure as said woman paused by the open doors. “I’ll be back later to check up on you, as per the prince’s orders.” 

Of course he would command such. She did see that coming.

“And… I apologize for my actions earlier.”

Well, quiznak, _that_ she didn’t see coming.

The loaded silence eased, and then, Acxa had left her to her thoughts.

The room, oddly silent, let Zoey try to accustom herself to her new cell, to the place she would probably be spending more time in than she would want, away from her team and in the hands of the enemy. How were Team Voltron doing? Were they going to try and rescue her? Were they injured in the fight? She could only imagine how many hits they took, and that’s not even taking into account the time after she’d been knocked unconscious. Sighing as she ran a hand through her platinum locks, she felt her headache reform, worry overtaking her before she tried to calm. There had to be a better way to spend time than worrying.

Thus, she spent her time laying down upon the bed instead, trying to fight off dreams of her teammates and purple light.

It had been maybe a varga or two by the time she and Acxa saw each other again. 

The sudden sound of the door opening had interrupted Zoey’s fitful slumber, and she had sat up rather quickly, the heel of her hand coming up to press into her left eye to try and rub away her drowsiness. Her own sudden reaction caused her to grunt with some pained effort, but she managed to resist the strong urge to fall back down onto the pillow. Despite how much time she’d spent unconscious after being captured, she’d fallen asleep without noticing.

What Zoey _did_ notice, however, was that the aqua-skinned general had gauze taped onto the side of her neck as she placed a tray of what the medic presumed to be food onto the center table. 

“How are your wrists? And everything else?” Acxa’s voice was softer than before but had no less of the cool tones from earlier. It wasn’t threatening anymore. Just… intimidating. Zoey’s mind, however, found itself focusing more on the presence of the gauze than the other’s tone.

Giving her left wrist an experimental, three-sixty degree turn, Zoey found that it no longer felt stiff. Her comfortable position as she slept must have let it get re-accustomed to moving. Her right one, on the other hand… The slight redness was still quite visible, mixing with a darker, purplish hue from the general’s grip onto her. Perhaps it had been the adrenaline from earlier, but she didn’t recall it aching this much. Her neck and ankles, after their own turns, were slightly hindered by stiffness. Still, it felt better than the way it did earlier. 

“They’re… fine.” The medic inexplicably found herself reassuring the Galra, her left hand coming up to enclose the bruised flesh of her other wrist. “They’re still sore, but they feel better than they did earlier.” It would be better if she had a cold compress, but she could make do.

Acxa hummed her assent, her royal blue irises briefly glancing at Zoey’s right wrist before turning to eye the placed meal. 

“You should eat. You were unconscious for a varga or two.” There was a moment’s pause before Zoey finally found herself moving to sit by the center table, crossing her legs. It was designed low enough that you sat on the floor to eat, like one of those tailored for Japanese households. 

“Thank you.” The food was placed on a fairly large plate, four, bite-sized cubes of a muddy color, a side of a bright blue and purple mash, and a medium-sized, round patty of a bright yellow color. Whilst the plate’s contents didn’t look appetizing, she couldn’t deny the enticing smell coming from them, a mix of different aromas that reminded her just how hungry she actually had been. Beside said plate was a glass filled about three-fourths of the way with a bubbly, periwinkle-colored liquid. Not quite water, but not quite unlike water either. “For bringing the food in, I mean.”

“... It’s no problem.” Acxa had taken her own seat across from their human captive, elbow leaning upon the table as the alien’s jaw rested upon her palm. Zoey felt the other’s gaze on her, and suddenly, the human didn’t know where to begin with her meal. Whatever was on her plate was definitely a step up from the late nights with instant ramen that all medical cadets knew and loved, but she still felt she should be more conscious with what she put in her mouth.

“Could you… um…” Zoey eyed one of the brown cubes then, holding it up between her forefinger and thumb as she examined it closer. She felt its spongy texture and could see flecks of black amongst the brown. This got her even more nervous than before. “Could you maybe tell me what this is? What it’s made of?” The Galra was looking upon her with her usual, unreadable expression, and thus, it was automatic that the human presumed she didn’t want to say a word. She probably didn’t come in here to talk about the damn food, Zoey. Perhaps Acxa was just there to make sure she ate before…

And a thought struck her.

“Oh.” Suddenly embarrassed by her previous question, Zoey lowered the cube from her face, rubbing slowly at the back of her neck so as to not exert too much force on her wrist. “I mean, that’s unless you have somewhere to be. It’s fine if you have duties to attend to.” That, of all things, was something the combat medic could understand. Acxa was a general, after all, and the prince’s right hand woman. “Y–” 

“I’m not busy.” Acxa’s words cut into her worries like a hot knife through butter, abruptly halting what she was going to say next. There was a hint of amusement to the glint in the general’s eyes now, one of the first emotions she’s seen of the other so far, and the medic found herself more embarrassed than before but not annoyed at all by the sight. “That’s a native Galra dish called “ebuca”, a popular dessert actually. It’s made up of multiple strains of different sugars and a fruit we call “beoloca”, processed to form a pastry. I… Well, _we_ figured you needed the energy kick. We weren’t sure how the human body worked compared to one of the Galra, but we guessed that it was nearly the same in that regard.” Nodding thoughtfully once Acxa had finished speaking, Zoey slowly lifted the piece toward her mouth, deciding that going for her dessert first seemed to be the best idea at the moment. She noticed that general kept saying “we”, but the human had a feeling that the others didn’t have as much to do with her meal as Acxa would have liked her to believe. 

The sweetness hit her immediately, as well as the feeling of the sponge cake-like texture upon her tongue. The closest thing Zoey could relate it to would be fresh banana bread, and the human briefly wondered if it was a coincidence that banana bread was one of her favorite comfort foods. Had they known? She wasn’t sure if “favorite food” had been a category written on anyone’s cadet file, but she wouldn’t put it past anyone. However, if the cube’s appearance had been this misleading, she wondered how the other two items on the plate would taste.

The mash tasted a lot like a mashed up leek salad, fresh and… earthy(?). She wasn’t sure whether that term applied anymore, considering how alien the food was. Nonetheless, it felt good going into her system. According to the Galra general, this side dish, ironically named “tokskin”, was supposed to hydrate and at the same time cleanse the body’s inner systems. If she ever got the recipe, she would probably ask Hunk to make some for the team. That is, if she even got to go back to them. Zoey nearly shook her head at the thought but chose to merely pay even more attention to Acxa than she already had been, not eager for her thoughts to return to negatives.

Meanwhile, the patty reminded her a lot of a moderately spiced hash brown. Not quite spicy, but seasoned well enough that it was made to taste better. It was the “strongest” smell-wise and probably the reason the meal had smelled so enticing. However, Zoey found herself liking its taste the least. According to her “guide”, this part of the dish was named “rumua” or simply nicknamed “the edible mound”. It was meant to balance out the sweet from the dessert. The medic had been pleasantly surprised to learn that Acxa also liked this part of the meal the least. 

The periwinkle liquid, or “ionum”, was also meant to hydrate but also have an effect on the body’s immune system. Acxa mentioned that, while the drink bolstered the immune system of Galra, she wasn’t sure it would have the same effect on a human being. This information made Zoey slightly more aware that eating food goven to her by strange aliens could have severe consequences, and that as soon as she could feel symptoms, she would probably be sent out via ejection. However, Acxa mentioned to let her know if anything felt… off after she ate and drank.

The human found more about Galra cuisine.

What was more important to Zoey, though, was that she found the normally-cold general was… actually pleasant company. 

When she wasn’t glaring the whole time, that is.

And due to that company, Zoey didn’t realize her plate and glass had grown empty.

“That was probably one of the best meals I’ve had in awhile.” While the medic felt a little bad for saying so, she knew that she spoke the truth. “It’s rather easy to get sick of space goop after having it one time too many.” With all this Paladin business, Coran had taken the liberty of cooking meals for them all, and it was safe to say that his creativity with food was not up to par with Hunk’s. The yellow Paladin had gotten too busy training and undertaking missions to cook a meal that differed from green slime, and while she loved the male Altean like a father, his cooking didn’t quite suit her tastes.

“I can only imagine.” While the other’s tone still held a distant air to it, Zoey could say that Acxa did relax, even just a little bit, as they conversed. The other’s posture grew less rigid though didn’t look any less professional than before, the Galra’s back still straight and her arms folded across the surface of the table. “You can only change something so many ways, after all.”

“That’s what I told him.” The human was already nodding her agreement as she spoke, leaning back on her palms whilst meeting Acxa’s gaze. How Zoey was already less intimidated than before, the prisoner herself didn’t know, but she hadn’t been afraid just then. Not as much as she would have been had Zethrid been the one to bring her meal in for her. “He’s pretty much convinced himself that we can survive on the same meal every day.”

And before the general could reply, an unmistakably velvet tone spoke over the intercom.

“Generals and prisoner, proceed to the bridge immediately. There is something urgent to discuss.”

And there was a click to end the command.

“We need to go, then.” Zoey said after a millisecond of pause, running a hand slowly through her light-colored hair as she stood to stretch. She had failed to notice it was no longer in a bun, now brushing the middle of her shoulder blades, and she mentally reminded herself to find another hair band soon. She then paused as she looked out of the corner of her eye, catching the Galra general watching her movements, and once Zoey turned to face the other fully, she could see curiosity heavily set in the other’s dark blue gaze. “Are… you okay?”

“Your hair.” The human merely raised a brow, confused as to what the other could mean. “I didn’t think… humans could have light hair. I presumed only Alteans could alter their form as such.” The taller woman moved to stand next to her, a hand on her armored hip as the shorter human tilted her head. Now that she did think about it, the Paladins had shades of dark hair aside from Pidge, and the Green Paladin’s had still been a shade of lighter brown.

“I suppose you haven’t seen anyone else with this hair color.” The aqua-skinned woman shook her head slowly, taking her eyes off of Zoey’s hair for a moment to go and unlock the door. The human had nearly forgotten Lotor’s order. “This is the color of hair I was born with. It’s probably hard for you to believe, but it’s harder to find someone with blue or white hair than blonde like mine.” 

It was easy to fall back into their slightly more comfortable state of conversation from earlier, Zoey noticed. The medic’s knowledge of genetics and the surrounding culture humans bred around appearance and hair color became the subjects of topic as the two walked, Acxa slowing down to match the human’s pace as she looked up once or twice to make sure they were going in the correct direction. The Galra showed genuine interest, quietly offering her own inputs or questions, and it spurred Zoey to discuss the topics even further. 

It wasn’t long, however, until they could hear multiple voices toward the end of a long hallway.

The rest of them were already gathered, Zethrid, Ezor, and Lotor all speaking amongst themselves whilst Narti leaned against a nearby wall with Kova on her shoulder. Then, they were all turning their attention to the pair that had just arrived as the human and her Galra companion walked in through the doors, the suddenly-quiet group’s gazes oddly loaded. Ezor raised a brow at them, barely managing to suppress a smirk threatening to form upon her lips as she eyed them both. Zoey guessed that the only thing stopping Ezor’s obvious teasing was probably the chance that she would unleash Acxa’s wrath. However, it seemed to the human that they could all handle themselves anyway. Being teased with the aqua-skinned general was something she should have expected from Ezor but did not.

“You two sure are getting along.” Ezor’s cheshire grin broke out of its restraints as the playful Galra crossed her arms and tilted her head. “Did you guys have a heart-to-heart or something?”

“A heart-to-heart about her meal, yes.” Acxa quipped almost too easily, tone as neutral as ever, and Zoey covered her mouth to hide her restrained laughter from the now-pouting Ezor. She could see Zethrid sporting a grin now as well, wrapping an arm around the red-skinned general’s shoulder as the shorter general’s pout disappeared. It was then that Ezor’s smile returned, her body leaning against Zethrid’s side. Were they…? Or was Zoey just imagining things? Acxa then focused on the still-smirking prince, her brow raising in question. “What did you need to see us for, Lotor? Was there something you needed?” 

“Yes.” There was a pause as Lotor deliberated his next words, eyes flickering to their captive a moment before turning back to Acxa as he addressed everyone in the room. “I’ve just gotten word that Haggar and her Druids have created another Robeast, one of their most powerful designs yet.” The mention of Haggar’s creations made Zoey stiffen slightly, her mind going back to Balmera and the behemoth they had encountered then. With a press to a button on a nearby console, a hologram was summoned: one of a long, snake-like monstrosity about Voltron’s length. Zoey could only imagine the different ways this Robeast could give Voltron a hard time. They would go after such a thing?

What could they possibly–?

“Our mission is to obtain it for ourselves.”

Zoey wasn’t sure she’d heard him at first, but he’d spoken loud and clear. 

She was now sure he was insane.

“And the prisoner?” Zethrid’s head tilted in the human’s direction to point her out, and Zoey’s brows furrowed in apparent confusion. “No one else is going to be on the ship to see to her.” No one would keep an eye on her. While the prospect gave her hope, she immediately washed it down. She’d learned to never hope for too much long ago.

And so, she remained silent.

From what she could observe, Lotor was the type of man to _always_ have a plan, and thus, his trusted generals, more likely than not, already had roles to play in this mission. One could not be spared. The team would not be complete.

Would they cuff her again?

Would they eject her from the airlock?

“Then, there is one, best option, yes?” Lotor eyed his generals and Zoey as they gave him curious looks, his smirk widening a fraction as he turned to move toward the nearest console. Whatever he was planning, though she did not know it at all, was sending chills up her spine. One option?

And with a slightly exaggerated flourish, a hyper-jump route and coordinates appeared on the screen.

“We take her with us.”


	4. (Chapter 3) Intercept

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which they converge.

(Zoey’s Point of View)

[???]

“It’ll have to do.” After Lotor’s announcement and the subsequent beginning of preparation hyper-jump, Acxa had been outfitting her for a while into the smallest set of Galra armor they could find, which was still a size or two too large for Zoey’s stature. The aqua-skinned general herself had been the shortest member, but she was still taller than the human by quite a few inches. Honestly, she had wondered why none of them had protested her coming along. She wasn’t part of their plan. She didn’t know their plan. She could just get in their way or make things worse. 

And she was, technically, the enemy.

Was Lotor just that confident about his generals and their abilities, so much as that he was willing to let one of his enemies see what they can do?

Most likely.

Why did none of the generals argue?

The answer hit her immediately, however.

They were loyal to Lotor. That was enough.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something flying toward her. 

Zoey’s hands rose to catch it out of reflex, surveying the light piece of cold metal now in her hands. It was short and grooved, resembling the handle of a knife with the blade absent. What was of note, however, was the black button she spied along the side of the handle facing her. Turning to eye her companion inquisitively whilst showing her the button, she waited for Acxa’s single nod of approval before gently lowering her thumb to activate it.

A violet light came to life, Zoey holding in a flinch as the energy rose to form a twelve-inch blade that curved upward slightly toward the end. She could feel the immense heat the concentrated energy emanated on the skin of the back of her hand and her upper arm. Experimentally holding up a finger near the blade’s edge, she had to stop an inch before she felt the heat begin to sting. This blade could cut into metal. She was sure of it. Pressing the button again proved to cause the blade to disintegrate back into its oddly-cold handle.

Okay, a handle with a not-so-absent blade.

A familiar-colored blade.

Where did–?

And it struck her.

Shiro’s hand.

With that slightly disturbing thought in mind, she placed the knife into her the holster in her belt, mind wandering.

Could she cut her bindings off with it? Did they have precautions for that too?

Would she die before she drew it?

“This is the weapon you’re giving me?” When Acxa did no comment but merely shrugged at her question, Zoey sighed deeply. She understood, but… “I think you guys want for the only person on this ship with medical experience to die first.” She thought that a pistol would have sufficed. With this, she was… not going to be as helpful. While being one of the weapons she could handle with the most proficiency, Galra soldiers had blasters. She would need to be up close and personal to enemy she had to fight.

“It wasn’t my decision.” The general sounded almost defensive, but Zoey had not been blaming her, not really. Perhaps that thought in itself was defensive on the prisoner’s part. Though, the human supposed it had come out as blame due to her wording, now that she thought about it. Nonetheless, Acxa was walking toward her again, a glinting, pair of metallic rings held in her hands. “You won’t like it, but Prince Lotor ordered another… precaution.” If Zoey didn’t know any better, she would think that Acxa was hesitant to perform this order, and that was quite off-putting. Usually, one would assume that the words “Acxa” and “hesitant” didn’t belong in the same sentence unless the phrase “is never” was added in between them.

The rings…

Zoey understood immediately.

Due to her holding her wrists upward for Acxa whilst narrowing her hazel eyes lightly, Zoey had nearly missed the momentary surprise that flickered over the general’s features before they schooled themselves again. However, this didn’t deter the Galra woman in front of her, and one cuff was held out for her right wrist, the limb more injured than the other. If this was Acxa’s way of getting the more painful part of this “precaution” out of the way, the medic would not argue with her method. 

If anything, the assumed concern was… pretty welcome.

The cuff’s mechanism allowed it to widen, fitting over her fist before clamping down over her wrist in one go to a snug fit. A sharp hiss was pulled from behind Zoey’s clenched teeth, her nails digging into her palms near-painfully. The bruise would deepen later on, and she knew it. 

Fortunately, due to her jolt of pain, she did not feel the other cuff clamping onto her opposite wrist. After calming herself through deep, ragged breaths, she experimentally turned her hands over, testing the tight fit. The grey metal glinted under the purplish lighting, a light blue emanating from something encased within the metal of the side facing her. The cuffs weren’t as heavy as she thought they would be but were heavy enough to cause a small ache, and...

And then, she noticed.

“These cuffs…” Zoey observed this aloud, looking up at Acxa with confusion glinting clear in her hazel eyes. She raised her arms to put her wrists side-by-side, pulling them far from each other just to test her theory. Not exactly standard, military design. “They’re not linked together.”

“No, they’re not.” Acxa confirmed with a small nod, holding up her own left arm to display a similar ring enclosed around her wrist. Zoey found her expression was unreadable, as it usually was, and the Galra’s eyes were trained onto the metal ring she herself wore. “Instead of inhibiting your movement during the mission, they have distance sensors placed into them that match into my own. If you run off too far from me, the sensors trigger a sharp, electric shock into your cuffs, and I will be alerted to said shock. They can’t be cut easily with the knife either, not without you burning into your own skin.”

Of _course_.

“Do I even want to ask how harsh the shock is?” Zoey hated how pathetic she sounded just now, mentally cringing despite her external, nonchalant expression.

To that, Acxa eyed her a moment, pausing with a small amount of amusement glinting in her eyes before she shrugged.

“I think not.”

By the time they reentered the bridge, the rest of the group had been idly discussing amongst themselves, looking over a holographic image of the Robeast construction facility floating above one of their consoles. The building was fairly large, three stories high but had several underground levels that indicated something was being pursued in secret. The deepest underground level, more likely than not, held the reported construction site for the Robeast.

“We enter through here.” The Galra prince pointed to a small duct section that lit up in an electric blue glow as soon as Lotor pointed his finger in its direction, the image zooming in to that entrance point. “The Robeast is in the facility’s deepest level. However, it seems this facility was made to be more exciting than the one we… worked through in the Eulypa system.” ‘Worked through’, huh? Was that what the Galra were calling blowing up and nearly killing multiple people nowadays? “Ezor and Narti go in first for scouting and recon. We need those security systems disabled before the rest of us head in. With the prisoner close to her guard, of course.” 

Zoey merely narrowed her hazel eyes in slight annoyance at the damned emphasis of her position on this mission. She got it. Did he need to rub it in?

Who was she kidding? Of _course_ , he did.

After more reiterations of the plan they had formed, some input, and some made adjustments due to Zoey’s presence, Lotor had dismissed them and ordered them to return to their bridge stations.

Acxa, and subsequently Zoey, stayed behind.

“I don’t normally question your decisions, Lotor, but…” Acxa’s hesitance was less explicit this time, but it was no less evident to Zoey. “Are you sure I should be the one connected to her?”

“Why is it that you doubt?” Lotor raised a brow, crossing his arms as his smirk waned ever so slightly.

Acxa’s mouth opened to reply before it closed again after a few moments.

“To your station then, general.” And his smirk returned full force.

Zoey was shocked, to say the least. 

Acxa had been given the chance to argue that perhaps Zethrid or even Lotor himself should have been the one Zoey was attached to, but… she either didn’t want to question Lotor further due to her loyalty or… the aqua-skinned general could find no valid reason as to why they _shouldn’t_ be stuck to each other. Lotor’s eyes had not been judgmental when he had asked, merely curious, so it… was the latter case, more likely than not. 

What that meant, Zoey wasn’t sure.

With that, Acxa wordlessly sat by her designated station near the front of the bridge, and Zoey had no choice but to follow the other’s lead, leaning against the console’s metallic side with her arms crossed. It seemed as though Acxa had now become preoccupied with her thoughts. The human kept her eyes out the nearby window as much as possible to avoid suspicion, though her gaze occasionally wandered to the generals working along their respective stations in the bridge. 

Perhaps to one general in particular. 

The aqua-skinned general had gauze on her neck. 

Of course, Zoey would want to check on Acxa continuously.

Lotor called to everyone as he prepared their hyper-jump with fluid movements across the holo-map found by his right. It was like watching a working mechanism, if Zoey had to compare. Everyone on that ship knew what to do, had a role to play, and they worked with an efficiency that rivaled the automaton soldiers they were used to fighting. Enemy or not, she could admit when something was impressive, and this group certainly was something remarkable. She wondered why Zarkon had never sent this team after hers before, considering their obvious skill. Was there something more to the prince and his team? Was it Zarkon’s pride?

“Hey.” After turning her attention away from the window, Zoey found her eyes meeting a neutral, navy blue gaze, and she resisted the urge to flinch under the intensity of the other’s stare. “You should hold on to something. We’re jumping soon, and we can’t have you injured during take off.” What’s the worst she could get, really? Injured limbs? Knocking herself out from impact? Though some of the consoles had sharper edges than those found in the Castle, she did not assume she would… 

However, instead of taking another second to think, she found herself clutching at the side of the seat belonging to the aqua-skinned general, as if to somewhat block her seated “warden” from her vision.

Yet, she was by Acxa’s side.

Acxa gave her a brief, side-eyed glance but said nothing.

“Roger that, general.” It felt so mechanical to say, and another voice echoed her words in her mind, deeper, more sullen.

That voice… How long had it been? 

“Five ticks!” Ezor called from the other front console, the floor vibrating beneath them as if to affirm. Lotor didn’t mention where they’d be going, what system or planet this supposed “base” was going to be in. That thought brought on more unwanted insights. Her team would have a hard time finding her… 

If they could even find her.

Zoey just hoped they were okay.

Shaking her head to bring herself back to the present, Zoey only found herself gripping the seat tighter, said grip barely stopping her body lurching forward as the ship was enveloped in blinding, blue light.

“Destination reached. Planet Myseran. Juneix system.” The automated tones reached her ears as she felt the ship’s vibrations ease, her feet now planted firm on the ground once again.

By the time her eyes adjusted to the new surroundings out the window, she could only see how… problematic the system was.

Myseran was a light grey-hued planet that Zoey estimated to be not much larger than Earth, with larger and much darker grey, swirling masses running along its surface. To Zoey, the various lines resembled storm clouds, violent gales that occasionally flashed electric white. The “clouds” nearly covered all of the planet’s surface, leaving only small openings to see a light grey surface. For all Zoey knew, the planet might not even be abandoned.

As if that wasn’t concerning enough, there was the presence of multiple asteroid fields surrounding the planet on all sides, covering nearly every nook and cranny around their destination.

How they could navigate this unscathed was something that escaped Zoey.

Lotor’s smirk, however, didn’t disappear. It was only natural he’d planned ahead for this as well.

“Get to the fighters.” His order was met with simultaneous nods from all generals, but he continued to speak, turning his back to the window and heading for the exit. “The third shuttle isn’t yet operational, but we’ll have to make do. Ezor, Narti, and Zethrid will take the one together. Acxa, the troublemaker, and I will take the other.” The pet name made Zoey narrow her eyes, but she said nothing otherwise. If he referred to her as such, she caused him trouble. 

That fact was enough satisfaction for her. 

The whole ride nearing the asteroid belt was full of briefings from Lotor as Acxa piloted, of how Narti and Ezor would go on ahead to disable security whilst the rest of them stayed outside to distract the squadrons of Galra soldiers stationed within. After that, they would enter and use the stationed lieutenant to gain access to the Robeast within.

Perhaps this was how they had infiltrated the previous base in the Eulypa system back when…

Back when Lotor’s group had fought Voltron.

The only reason Zoey was even going along with this plan was due to the fact that they were fighting Galra, Lotor’s own people, but despite their opposition, not knowing Lotor’s motive for going against his own empire put her in a state of unease. He was their ruler, and yet his motives impeded any progress the Galra empire could make in their defeating Voltron.

He was one of those more difficult for Zoey to read.

“How are we getting past all those asteroids?” Zoey’s worry seeped into her tone, she knew, but who could blame her? Heading into such a place head on was such a… _Keith_ thing to do. All the injuries they could sustain, all the scenarios that Zoey conjured, they did not bode well. However, there was no worry lining Lotor’s features, nor Acxa’s.

“You shall see, won’t you troublemaker?” With that, Zoey glanced at the screen that had popped up to Acxa’s right at the start of briefing, with Ezor still sitting in the pilot’s seat, Narti now leaning against the side of the seat with Kova still balancing delicately on her shoulder, and Zethrid having leaned on its other side with her arm slung on top of the seat’s backrest. Lotor turned to them and raised a brow, his features slightly more serious than normal as he crossed his arms. “Are you all ready? We cannot afford crashing into anything.”

Was Lotor… worried? Was Zoey imagining that?

“You worry too much, Loty~” The nickname was certainly one Zoey’s heard for the first time. Lotor, prince of the Galra empire, didn’t strike her as someone who appreciated such pet names, but he merely huffed in response to it, surprisingly offering no comeback or snarky remark. It seems as though he did have soft spots for his generals. “I’m pretty sure I’m your best pilot, so we’ll be fine.”

“Dunno about that, Ez.” Zethrid’s gruff tones answered, a smug smirk forming on the tallest member’s lips as she spoke. “I kinda remember beatin’ ya in a race that one time we were testin’ these fighters out.” Ezor made a face at that, narrowing her eyes as she side-eyed the muscular Galra to her left.

“That _one_ time you won’t let me forget, Zeth.” Though Zoey supposed that Ezor was supposed to sound annoyed, the red-skinned general was already smiling through half her statement, her tone lacking any actually annoyance. Instead, all Zoey saw on Ezor’s face was fondness.

“Hey, I gotta beat ya at somethin’.” The tallest Galra said this with a raise of her other hand, her eyes meeting Ezor’s for a brief moment as her smile softened. “Can’t have ya bein’ perfect all the time, you know.”

Huh.

So, Zoey had been right about something between them.

Yep, she found herself smiling at the banter before turning away to stare straight ahead and drop her slight grin.

They were her captors, damn it.

As she turned away, she caught a certain someone raising a brow at her.

Acxa’s questioning expression embarrassed her to no end, but Zoey was more embarrassed that she had been caught than anything else. The human merely looked out the window to give herself something else to focus on, feigning nonchalance in order to salvage some dignity.

And it was hard not to focus on the incoming asteroid they were going to hit.

“Now.” Lotor’s voice rang out, his one hand moving to the console as his gaze remained focused on the projectile headed their way. The ship’s thrusters began to charge as the asteroid grew ever closer, but they were near-immediately pushed forward into the asteroid minefield in front of them fast enough that the human had to clutch the nearby console to keep herself upright. 

The ships were made to be quick, agile enough that Zoey didn’t seem to feel as single graze. While even seeing these comet-made fighters in action from afar was already impressive, it was something else entirely to see it happening up close. Was this what it felt like to ride one of the Lions, like nothing could touch you? The pang of heaviness she felt suddenly settled in her chest as she thought of them, making her clench her free fist. She’d find a way out of this. 

She had to. 

They were close enough to the planet now that Zoey could confirm her previous suspicions. 

The storm clouds continuously swirled above the planet’s surface, flashing white before once again staying in near-complete dark grey. Storms. Possibly electric and possibly something else entirely. She could feel the ship shuddering slightly as they neared the planet’s atmosphere, and the nearby comm began to flicker with interference. 

There was a silence now, a serious tension in the air as they began to descend further, and Acxa had leveled the steering mechanism downward to gain slight speed. Zoey could see the other fighter out of the corner of her eye, the other ship’s nose tilted downward in the same manner as theirs was. Just earlier the group had been joking around, had been at ease, but now...

They were the group many had grown to fear.

The sight underneath the planet’s large cloud forms was, if possible, even more concerning than the “storms”.

For miles, all one could possibly see were blue-grey crags reaching for the sky in various, yet all abnormally tall heights. It almost looked like a natural spike trap, with all the... objects pierced into them from unfortunate failures to land. The various pockets of light-grey that could be seen were plateaus that were marred with coal black, burn marks from all the “lightning”, along with small clearings on the planet’s face that had been littered with glinting metal from wrecked ships, unrecognizable shapes and what looked like... eggs? In nests?

It looked like something from a dark, children’s cartoon.

“Land there.” Lotor had pointed to a nearby plateau, conveniently low enough to avoid detection but high enough to avoid the owners of the nests down below. It was almost too convenient, but it wouldn’t be farfetched to think that the group had scouted the planet beforehand.

It was only after Acxa had landed and the other ship had followed suit next to them that Zoey realized the comm had completely shut off, the holo-screen now purely static. The planet’s interference prevented all signals from getting in or out, and that had probably been the reason for a Robeast construction base being placed on this desolate planet.

There was no rain as they got out.

There was only wind that hurled dust and grazed Zoey’s skin lightly and made her place a hand in front of her eyes. However, this did not deter any of her captors at all, and they were pushing through the gales that seemed to push back even harder than before, the beeping on Lotor’s handheld tracking system nearly drowned out by the whistling of the harsh air currents.

And it was after they arrived at the bottom of a small plateau that the beeping quickened its speed.

Ezor had split from the group to press into a nearby wall, finding a small recess in the wall’s light-grey surface that lit up a light purple as soon as the red-skinned Galra put pressure. A few seconds later, a dark grey keypad emerged, speaking automated Galra that Zoey could not begin to understand. However, Lotor merely held his handheld device against the keypad, and after a small whirring noise, the keypad’s surface lit up green and the outline of a wide door carved itself into the rock. The carved entrance receded into the walling, lifting to display a lift that one would see for a human mineshaft and a small keypad on the nearby wall.

And yet, Lotor made no move to enter, neither did anyone else. He merely glanced over his shoulder, smirking as he raised a brow.

Following his gaze, Zoey could see figures in the distance then, nearly invisible due to all the flying dust.

However, she recognized the multi-neon colors that glowed.

Bayards.

“Hand her over.” Pidge’s voice rang out as she stepped forward, and she and Zoey locked eyes. A wave of relief swept through the medic at the sight of the shortest Paladin, at the sight of her unharmed. They had all made it, and that had repeated into her mind like a mantra she didn’t know she needed to hear.

Despite her relief, she felt a bout of anxiety with who they were up against now and made the Green Paladin halt with a look of warning, a warning not to act recklessly, not to endanger herself. After a pause, the other, human female raised her bayard, eyes more calculated than before as the rest of the Paladins took their own steps forward.

“Hand my best friend over or you’ll regret it, Lotor.” Pidge’s voice was tinged with light anger abd heavy determination.

Pidge...

Nobody moved. Not yet.

Looking out of the corner of her eye, she could see Acxa next to her, eyes focused, calm, and emotionless. No fear. Nothing but the cold she’d encountered when they’d first met vargas ago.

No. She had to focus on her team.

She could see them. All of them. Pidge. Lance. Allura. Hunk. Keith. Shiro. They all looked... so determined, and she felt herself clench her fists in an effort to restrain the urge to shake. Yet... she could not panic, not worry, not _now_.

They _came_ , _followed_.

However... what were they going to do?


	5. (Chapter 4) Anticipation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which tensions coil.

(Zoey’s Point of View)

[Myseran, Juneix System]

All Lotor did was smirk wider.

His amusement was clear on his expression, and Zoey knew his fanged grin was sure to piss at least one of the Paladins off.

What Zoey saw was that her team had their jaws clenched tighter than before, their hands stiffening against their bayards and Allura’s hands curling into shaking fists. Even Hunk looked completely serious, not a trace of fear to be found.

“You may take her back, if you wish.” Lotor broke the silence, his indigo eyes moving from one Paladin to the other as he smugly raised a brow. It was clear to Zoey that he was not done with his devious mind plays. She had opened her mouth to speak but had not gotten the chance before Lotor's velvety tones took over once again. “However, I’d be mindful of the cuffs on her wrists.” 

“Wha–?” Lance’s curious tone halted itself as his eyes landed on her cuffs, and Zoey’s friends all had their gazes hardened in seconds, Pidge’s anger perhaps the most obvious of all. The now-Red Paladin’s eyes once again focused his rifle bayard’s sights on Lotor, his royal blue gaze as serious as his tone at that moment. “What did you do to her? What can those cuffs do?”

“Do you want to find out, Paladin?” Lotor was playing with Lance, dancing around the answer, and Zoey knew it. The Galra prince never moved his eyes from Lance, his gaze as taunting as his tone. He was buying time, stalling, but for what? “Are you truly willing to take a risk like that?”

“We don’t have time for games, Lotor, and you will give Zoey _back_.” Allura’s commanding tone rose above the whistle of the winds around them, a pinkish glow forming around the princess' form as she spoke. “You three are outnumbered, _incomplete_.”

Wait.

Three?

_‘Ezor and Narti go in first for scouting and recon.’_

Quiznak.

“Guys!” Zoey called out, a warning, but one that had come seconds too late.

There were metallic groans as the lift shuddered from behind them, having gone down minutes ago to reappear with multiple Galra robo-squadrons. This had been Lotor’s plan from the beginning, and Zoey had only just realized it. He’d known they were being followed the whole time, had sent his two scouting generals ahead to handle the security system whilst he bought them time.

This was an ambush.

A rain of bright, purple rifle blasts came upon them, one managing to graze Zoey’s shoulder as she hissed near-inaudibly at the sudden sear of pain. She grit her teeth as she tried to ignore the ache, her hand automatically moving to try and examine her burn. Zoey could see Team Voltron's eyes flicker with near-simultaneous worry, and she met her best friend's chestnut-colored gaze, trying her best to give off a subtle smile. However, before she could even think to tend to her wound, she soon felt a hand near-gently enclosing around her then-numbing arm, tugging her into the part of the fray nearest the now-empty elevator and away from her team.

“Zoey!” She could hear Pidge’s voice call out, but the clash of metal upon metal and the gunfire nearly drowned the Green Paladin out. The Galra soldiers began to swarm them, robotic-toned orders being called out for their capture. She could already hear grunts from Zethrid and Acxa as they fought soldiers that dared come five feet too close, blaster fire flying every which way. She could see fluid movement out of the corner of her right eye and immediately recognized Lotor's graceful form, each blow followed by the thuds of fallen automatons.

“Pidge! Guys!” Her voice rang out slightly shaky as she eyed her team being surrounded, and despite Zoey trying to rein her emotions in, she found herself performing the breathing exercises she knew by heart, mentally berating her momentary lack of calm. Zoey faced forward once again a moment, only to be suddenly pulled by her shoulders to avoid more blaster fire to her left.

“Focus!” Acxa’s navy gaze met Zoey’s with a heated intensity, as if to snap her out of a haze, and after a moment, it softened slightly along with the grip on her shoulders. However, there was a clear order in the other’s eyes, clear intent followed by clear instruction. “We have to get out the fight and into the elevator. Focus.” 

_‘Focus.’_ This voice, soft and soothing... _‘You can do anything you set your mind to, remember?’_

She remembered. She had to focus on what mattered right _now_.

Her arm didn’t matter at the moment.

Right then, she could only focus on the Galra soldier that had gotten too close, its blade ready to strike at Acxa’s back as it was turned.

And Zoey’s hand was moving on its own, her uninjured arm unsheathing the handle on her belt holster as its blade sprung to life.

She had pulled Acxa out of the way by then, had sliced into the metal of the soldier's arm to, quite literally, disarm it. In the second that followed after, she had fluidly dodged its other grabbing hand, quickly leaping upon its back to slice horizontally from its neck. She jumped off the now-headless robo-soldier as it fell, landing upon her toes and evening out her weight to lessen the impact.

She turned to face a slightly surprised, maybe even _impressed_ Acxa.

“I told you. _Combat_ medic, remember?” That was all Zoey was able to say, her tone serious to accompany her calm smile, before Lotor had moved past Acxa and herself to give her a meaningful look that, like all his other expressions did, spoke volumes. They had to move. _Now_.

With that, Acxa had her once again by the lower arm, tugging her toward the elevator as they fought their way through the squadrons that stood against them.

It was always said that you could tell much about a person based on how they fought, by psychologists and martial artists alike. She had seen it in the way the Paladins had fought, each with an individual fighting style that reflected parts of their personality.

And she could see it here with her three captors fighting by her.

Zethrid fought with a brutal ferocity that rivaled that of an enraged rhinoceros, charging into foes unhinged and ending them without allowing them any time to recover even an ounce of their lost strength. They saw her coming but could never beat her despite it, never slowed down her momentum no matter how many she had come up against.

Lotor fought the way he moved and spoke, with upheld grace and poise, dodging and sending blows as fluidly as water. He was the type to patiently take his time, waiting until the opponent had spent most, if not all, of their energy or gave him a fatal opening before he ended them without a single sign of remorse. He was ruthless and clever, a combination Zoey was always uneasy about.

Acxa fought with professional, precise strikes, adapting to play her strengths against an opponent's weaknesses. Her opponents were taken down quick and easy, no nonsense, all cold, all business. She seemed to embody the “assassin” trope Zoey had seen so many times in movies, conveying a subtle, darker grace that resulted in efficiency and results.

Zoey's style was watching body parts, looking for chinks in armor, both literal and metaphorical, and exploiting those weaknesses. Her observation and anatomy memorization often allowed her to find even the most well-hidden of vulnerabilities, and with her usually being quite underestimated, this worked to her advantage, especially against an opponent more focused on showing off their skills than being cautious. Being given lighter weapons like knives and pistols often gave her the speed she needed to use these vulnerabilities to her advantage as soon as she was able to figure them out.

However, it occurred to Zoey that she hadn’t fought this way in a long time, so much so that she felt uncoordinated at certain moments, only able to recover at the last second. Muscle memory could only function so well until a certain amount of time had passed, but she had defended herself well enough that they were soon in front of the elevator, a pile of broken scrap, Galra soldiers in their wake. It wasn’t long then before they had entered the elevator and had started to descend toward the lower levels for the Robeast.

The last thing Zoey could see was her team fighting their hardest against a thinning horde before they were out of sight.

Then, the dread settled in.

She had been _bait_ , had put them in danger, as she had sworn she never would.

Her team... They shouldn’t have followed the–

Her thoughts were interrupted by the movement of a hand held out in front of her, a small roll of gauze in the center of its palm.

“For your arm.” was all Acxa said, face betraying no emotion this time as her navy gaze flickered to said wound for a moment. The armor had taken most of the impact, but the plating found along the arm was thinner compared to the other parts and had split open. “The gauze has healing paste already, so your wound should heal in a few doboshes.”

The wonders of alien medicine.

“... Thanks.” Zoey’s voice sounded softer than usual as she took the offered bandage item, but she had immediately eyed the three around her, settling her gaze on Acxa again with her medical instincts kicking in. “Are you okay though? No sustained injuries?” She would be willing to give up the gauze for a more serious wound, if any of them had any.

Zoey briefly wondered what Lotor and Zethrid were smirking for, but the human didn’t bother to dwell and guess. The elevator had almost fully descended.

The human got a single nod in return, Acxa’s gaze meeting hers a moment before Zoey averted her gaze to work on her arm, fingers tying the gauze onto her arm as if it were second nature, mechanical. How many times had she done this to others? To herself?

The facility’s lowest floor was quiet, almost _too_ quiet, as if there had never been any occupant or worker in the first place. This was, supposedly, the Robeast Construction floor, and should have been the busiest and least deserted. One would think that the base had been abandoned in a hurry, perhaps a quintant or two ago, at first glance.

That is, if not for the bodies strewn along the halls. 

Most of the Galra about were knocked out, breathing against the walls of the hallways they took, with robotic guards in multiple pieces next to them. How long had Narti and Ezor been gone? How fast were those two, to have worked their way into a fully-operational base and reduce it to such a state?

Finally, the sight of large, purple doors with a plaque held above the door emerged from the end of the hall.

Zoey couldn’t read Galra, but it was a conspicuous entrance if she ever saw one.

Lotor had paused by the door, Zoey forcibly coming to a stop before she hit the leader of her captors. He was still a moment, waiting, and the intercom clicked to convey Ezor's voice.

“The Beast's not ready yet. Or at least, not activated completely.” There was a succession of quick beeps that followed afterward, and then a pause. “Oh, and you have the Paladins on your tail. They'll be down soon.”

“Are we ready?” Zoey’s brows scrunched at Lotor’s question, her eyes meeting the back of his head as if calling him to face her.

... Ready? For what?


End file.
